At the Passing-Out Parade of Recruit Course 125 at Ankaful Prison Officers’ Training School in the Central Region, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, emphasised the urgent need for correctional reform in Ghana. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to transforming the prison service into a modern facility that prioritises rehabilitation, reformation, and reintegration of inmates.
The Minister highlighted the government’s ongoing efforts to expand vocational training, educational programs, and productive inmate enterprises, all of which reinforce the principles of rehabilitation and reformation. He emphasised that correctional facilities must evolve into centres of reform rather than merely detention centres.
He explained that “empowering an inmate with employable skills is not an act of charity but a strategic investment in national security and human capital.” According to the Minister, providing inmates with marketable skills reduces their likelihood of re-offending. He emphasised that rehabilitation and reformation should be tied to purposeful activities, ensuring they occur in an environment that fosters change.
To implement this vision, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak announced plans to scale up government support for prison-based ventures. These will include activities such as carpentry, tailoring, agriculture, and industrial operations like bottled water production, forming the backbone of a self-sustaining correctional economy.
The Minister also directed all institutions under the Ministry for the Interior to prioritise purchasing bottled water and toilet rolls produced by the Ghana Prisons Service. This initiative, he said, would help alleviate the financial burden on the state, generate revenue, and promote inmate productivity.
Reassuring the leadership and personnel of the Ghana Prisons Service, the Minister emphasised the government’s unwavering support. He noted that the commitment goes beyond improving logistics and infrastructure to reforming the very foundations of correctional practices in Ghana.
Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak urged the newly graduated officers to serve with integrity, compassion, and professionalism. He reminded them that their actions would reflect the high standards of the prison service and the trust the nation has placed in them.
